All along, WR Steve Smith wanted to land a new contract with the Giants. He said so in July 2010 when, after catching a franchise-record 107 passes, he said he should be given a raise on his $550,000 salary. He thought so last March, claiming that the Giants had told him they’d take care of him.

Evidently, the Giants had a different idea about Smith’s value. And probably when he'd be healthy again.

And so, the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane was the first to report that the Eagles surprisingly have signed Smith to a one-year deal, giving the so-called Dream Team yet another talented piece. The Newark Star Ledger's Mike Garafolo reports that the contract is a one-year, $4 million deal (with $2 million guaranteed).

On his Facebook page, Smith wrote that Philadelphia showed him plenty of love (the bold below is mine):

"I will always cherish my time in NY and the super bowl victory.. This was obviously not an easy decision for me or something i ever expected but unfortunately the business aspect proved that the eagles wanted me to be part of their organization MUCH more than the Giants did.. A special thanks to my WR buddies, coach Gilbride, all of u amazing fans on here, and the entire giants organization for drafting me.. Time for a new beginning..."

He also told reporters on a conference call Wednesday that he thought he was "close" to returning to action.

The problem with Smith throughout his four-year career is that he’s been injury prone, particularly last season when he played only nine games after suffering a pectoral injury and then a knee injury that required the dreaded microfracture surgery.

The Giants were cautious to re-sign Smith because of that knee injury and the surgery and because Smith won't be available to start the season on the field.

Instead, Smith will get a chance to revitalize his career with Philadelphia, which has been having holdout issues with DeSean Jackson and illness issues with Jeremy Maclin (though McLane's source said the move had nothing to do with Maclin's health).

Said coach Andy Reid in a statement released by the team: "He's a Pro Bowl quality receiver that we will work into our offense as soon as he is ready to go."

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Said Maclin at the time: “It was off and on. I went for a week where I felt good, and then all of a sudden the feeling would be back.”

Which leads us to Wednesday’s report in the Philadelphia Inquirer which states that Maclin hasn’t yet practiced this training camp* because he’s dealing with an unspecified illness.

*As is evident in the picture to the right as Maclin talks to Jason Avant; it’s evident because Maclin is not wearing shoulder pads.

"He's not done with his tests so the doctors are still looking at a few things," Eagles coach Andy Reid said. "He's up here, he's in good spirits, he looks good. He's able to do some conditioning things. ... From what he's gone through it looks like he's in good shape."

The paper also writes that Maclin is noticeably thinner than he was earlier this offseason when he participated in player-led workouts -- he’s listed, by the way, at 198 pounds. Maclin won’t speak to reporters until he begins practice.

That, according to the paper, might not be very soon.

If you’ll recall, Maclin missed some time last training camp due to a knee injury and then a shoulder problem, which prompted our own Andy Benoit to write, “One criticism of Maclin as a rookie was that he lacked toughness and was hesitant to take on contact.” Though we don’t know what the illness is and how much it’s impacting his ability to practice, Maclin’s inability to stay healthy won’t help that kind of reputation.

That’s probably an unfair indictment on Maclin, but that doesn’t mean it’s untrue.

Appearing on The Michael Kay Show with fill-in host Stephen A. Smith, Vick said that he would want Burress on his team even though he has playmakers in Jackson, Jeremy Maclin and Brent Celek.

“I mean you can never have enough weapons, I think," Vick told Smith, according to Sports Radio Interviews. "Obviously we’ll find a way to use them as well as the other 31 teams in this league who will be vouching to get him. I’m saying I wouldn’t say no. I wasn’t opposed to it. I would definitely open an invite if it was there and just see what happens. DeSean is a great player. He’s a future Hall of Famer. Jeremy is a future Hall of Famer. Brent as well, but we want to maximize our talent and I’m sure we’ll find a way to use him. We have great, great, leaders. I also think he would be good for the young guys. We’ll see what happens. It may happen. It may not.”

That's a lot of pass-catching Hall of Famers on one team. Either way, the attraction between the Eagles and Burress appears to be mutual. According to ESPN.com's Ashley Fox, who covered the Eagles previously for the Philadelphia Inquirer, Philly is "going to go after Burress, and go after him hard."

Fox adds that "Vick had the time and space to regain his abilities in a relatively low-pressure environment, and because of Philadelphia's depth at receiver, Burress would too. The Eagles have a decent option in the slot in Jason Avant. To them, Burress simply would be a luxury."

The Vick-Burress comparison has been made before as a reason why Philly might be interested. But other than the fact that both men have been incarcerated in recent years, they're completely different players. Vick got out of prison when he was 29, and signed with the Eagles as a backup. Although Vick was predictably rusty at first, he still possessed the athleticism that made him one of the league's most dynamic players.

Burress, on the other hand, is 34 and even in his prime was never known for his speed or route-running ability. There's no reason to think he stumbled upon either while serving time. And while expectations for Vick were decidedly low when he arrived in Philly, the thinking with Burress seems to be that he can ease back into his old job and at some point during the season develop into the missing piece to the Eagles' Super Bowl puzzle.

Sounds like a stretch.

Which is pretty much what the Inquirer's Jeff McLane wrote on July 5. "When reports surfaced that the Eagles were first in line for Burress, the information was not leaked from their camp, team sources indicated. The Eagles remain neutral. They're nowhere near as interested as they were in Vick, post-incarceration, but they're not going to broadcast it. Reid is fond of Burress and doesn't want to hinder his return to the NFL. Now if the 6-foot-5 receiver would fall into his lap for a meager price, then Burress' signing could be something worth presenting to owner Jeffrey Lurie."

One way or the other, we'll know how the Eagles feel about Burress once free agency begins -- fingers crossed -- sometime in the coming weeks.

Posted by Andy BenoitTim McManus of Philly Sports Daily recently visited the gym where many locked out Eagles players are working out. While there he learned that Jeremy Maclin had lost 15 pounds after spending most of February and March battling a “mono-like illness”. The Eagles wideout is fine now and has since regained seven of those pounds.

“It was off and on,” Maclin said. “I went for a week where I felt good, and then all of a sudden the feeling would be back.”

We report this only because . . . well, think about it: can you imagine the beanpole Maclin getting 15 pounds lighter? He’s listed at 6’0”, 198 but appears to be trimmer than that. During his illness Maclin must have looked like, well, DeSean Jackson.

An interesting look at what it’s like to work on a book with Chad Ochocinco (full disclosure: the first book I wrote was with Orange Frazer Press. It was not on Ochocinco. Or Chad Johnson, for that matter).

Philly’s magic began to dissipate once teams realized that this defense was not far above average and that this offense could not read complex blitzes prior to the snap.

An improved front five could put the Eagles over the top in 2011. Offensive line coach Juan Castillo has moved to the defensive coordinator role (not a typo…the offensive line coach is now the defensive coordinator).

Filling Castillo’s old spot is longtime Colts assistant Howard Mudd, whom many believe is the best line coach in the industry. Mudd will simplify everything Philly’s offensive linemen do.

Whereas before they had a handful of different pass protection methods to learn, they’ll now have just one. Expect to see major improvements right away. Mudd was a big reason the Colts were able to survive with low-drafted and undrafted blockers for so many years.

1. Outside LinebackerErnie Sims is a great athlete who has no idea what he’s doing half the time. Opposing offenses love spotting him in coverage. Moise Fokou has good downhill attack speed, but he’s a fringe starter at best.

2. Safety It would be wise to re-sign veteran leader Quintin Mikell. But if that doesn’t happen, the Eagles will likely need a more consistent replacement strong safety than Kurt Coleman. Also, keep in mind, free safety Nate Allen tore his ACL in December.

3. Cronerback Everyone thinks Nnamdi Asomugha would be a great fit on this team. Asomugha, however, is a man-to-man specialist. Castillo will run a zone-based scheme. The Eagles would be wise to spend the money elsewhere. And while upgrades would be nice, the Eagles don’t necessarily have to spend at this spot to begin with. As much as Dmitri Patterson struggled down the stretch, the first-time starter also looked very good at times, playing with aggression and confidence early on.

There is a lot of pressure on Michael Vick in 2011. He is being asked to lead a team that many expect to contend for a title. If he answers the challenge, he’ll almost certainly be signed to a long-term mega contract that could make most of the financial woes left over from his dogfighting retribution disappear.

If he fails, he’ll still get a big contract somewhere, but the mega contract will never come. Assuming Philly’s defense is fine (and granted, that’s not a light assumption), Vick’s performance will determine this team’s fate.

Posted by Andy BenoitDALLAS -- It feels like the last day of exams in college here at Super Bowl headquarters. Most people have their work done and are not around. The few who are here are working intently on final projects. Crews are taking down the stages and cleaning up all around Radio Row. Every hour or so a fire alarm goes off (presumably because equipment is being hauled out through backdoors). The athletes have been scarce, as well (it’s mid-afternoon and I’ve only seen Michael Irvin and Kurt Warner outside the Sheraton today).

There’s also a subtle aura of fatigue floating around. Virtually everyone in Dallas was at a Super Bowl party until the wee hours last night. There was the Commissioner’s party, the ESPN party, the Sports Illustrated party, the GQ party and the Playboy party, to name a few. Those of you who follow @CBSSportsNFL on Twitter or read Friday’s Super Bowl Scene late edition (which, by the way, has a picture of a perfect Troy Polamalu Jr. that’s worth checking out) knows that Sir Will Brinson and I attended the Playboy party.

How was it? In a word, agonizing. In another word, amazing. We began the night as part of the red carpet media, which meant our role was to stand around and wait to have quick, flimsy conversations with famous people before they walk in. It’s something neither Will nor I had ever done. Fortunately, one of the four Playboy PR reps would come by and whisper the name of the celebrity if need be. (Or, they’d come by and have us whisper to them the name of the athlete who was coming by.)

There was A LOT of standing and waiting involved. This was especially brutal because the entrance was in an enclosed tent that contained just one heater. The temperature inside the tent was in the mid-40s. The festivities began at 9:00; the celebrities started trickling in at 10:15. At 10:30, sensing that it could be hours before the event gained significant action, Will and I decided that if no one showed up by 10:35, we’d bolt. At around 10:32, Darrelle Revis came in. Not long after him was Phillies slugger Ryan Howard.

Eventually, we got picky and decided that if the next celebrity was not an A-lister, we’d depart. When Maria Menounos showed up, Will declared her A-list caliber on the basis that she tends to draw a lot of internet traffic. (Wonder why that is.)

Even though much of the night involved standing in the freezing cold and waiting around, time actually flew by. It helped that Sports Illustrated media guru Richard Deitsch was with us. Discussing the sports media industry is something most in the sports media LOVE to do (Will and I especially).

As we neared midnight, Will and I gave in and just committed to waiting for Snoop Dogg’s arrival (the logic was, “hell, it’s already late anyway”). Many of the expected guests on Playboy’s list were no-shows (which was fine because plenty of big names who were not on the list showed up). By that point we had already encountered Landon Donovan, Craig Robinson (Daryl from The Office), Knowshon Moreno (Broncos), Flo Rida (rapper), Barry Sanders, the White House Crashers, Paul Scheer (TV Show The Leage), Vince Neil (Motley Crue…he was wasted out of his mind, by the way), Lawyer Milloy (Seahawks), Marcus Allen, Jared Fogle (Subway), Ryan Kwanten (actor), Phil Hellmuth (gambler), James Laurinaitis (Rams), Kyle Busch, Ryan Cabrera (rock star), Aubrey O’Day (singer/dancer/actress…i.e. hot girl), Hunter Parrish (actor), Dave Annable (Brothers and Sisters) and Sarah Ramos (actress). And maybe more.

Snoop was guaranteed to show because, as the headline entertainment, he was a big reason 2,500 people shelled out $1,000 to be there. (Plus, his dad, Papa Snoop had arrived earlier.)

Shockingly, Snoop Dogg is not the most punctual guy. He was expected at midnight. At 12:30 someone from his crew called to say that they were five minutes out. At 1:06, he arrived.

Will and I have seen and spoken with loads of celebrities this week. Either fortunately or unfortunately, you become somewhat immune to the excitement of it all. But admittedly, a conversation with Snoop was something we both craved and loved. After some photo ops he strolled over to us smelling exactly how you’d expect him to smell. We asked the standard red carpet questions (the simple, soft-hitting stuff is more appropriate and effective for events like these). The quality of Snoop’s answers was very solid – probably better than everyone save for Brandon Lloyd (by far the most engaging and entertaining star on the night), gambler Phil Hellmuth and maybe Lawyer Milloy.

From there we went into the party and watched Snoop tear down the house. The behavior of the patrons was what’d you’d expect at a Playboy gathering (we’ll leave it at that). Plenty of A-list sports media faces were there having a good time (again, we’ll leave it at that). And a handful of players –including Steelers left tackle Max Starks, who, remember, is on IR – were reveling in it all.

By the time it ended and we got back to the Media Center, it was 2:00 a.m. Poor Josh Katzowitz was sitting in the empty media workroom waiting for us. We had told him we’d be back no later than 9:30.

Jeremy Maclin started the stream of what was a pretty nice group of big-name NFL guys. And with Maclin playing the role of "quiet assassin" (he's ridiculously talented but gets much less pub than Michael Vick or DeSean Jackson) on a really dangerous Eagles' team, we thought we'd check on his thoughts about the Eagles next season, their weapons and who he thinks will win the Super Bowl.